Ski binding hitch



Aug. 19,1947. E. H. cARRoLL SKI BINDING HITCB Original Filed May 8, 1942 um EN wm, .51

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-N Q Nm- Patented Aug. 19i, 1947 substituted for application Serial No. 442,189,

May 8,1942. This application Junel, 1945,

SerialNo.i59 9,801

.3 Claims.

:This invention relates generally to ski bindings and vbitches and more particularly to new and improved constructions inthese devices for rendering them safer and stronger and -at the same time simplifying them.

Objects of the invention include the provision of means located 4at .the forward endhof the `ski bindinglhitch for excluding ice and Ysnow .and otherrarticles such 4asvsticks and twigsfrom the operating parts of'ithe; hitch, said means also forming a guard for certain of the pivot hinges of the toggle joint hitch-operating means to ensure against accident and sticking of the hitch; the provision of. a fixed bracket on the ski, an adjusting bar slidable thereon, ears on the bracket and bar for pivotally mounting ,the operating lever and links of a toggle joint by means of pins or the like, and a guard plate fastened to the bracket at its forward end and extending upwardly and rearwardly between theears'on the bracket to space and rigidify the same'and terminating adjacent the ears ,on the :adjusting bar, to provide cover means extending ifrom the operating handle of thetoggle and-:concealing `and protecting the jointmechanism not covered by the handle in its locked condition.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a plan view of a ski binding having a toggle joint embodying one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the forward end of the toggle joint or hitch and looking in the direction of arrow 2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2 but showing the toggle in partly open condition;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation looking in the direction of arrow i in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section on line 5 5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a view in side elevation of the forward end of a ski binding embodying a modified form of the invention;

Fig. '7 is a section on line l-'i of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a vertical central section thru the hitch of Fig. 6.

The construction shown in Figs. 1-5 inclusive is an improvement on the constructions shown in my patents Nos. 2,253,889, and 2,271,452; and the (Cl. Zim-11.35)

The -ski -toewhich the hitches may 'be secured is indicated at Hl, thecables being ycharacterized by the numeral'lZ randthe heel-ofthe ski Aboot is indicated at lll. Asis customary-the -cables extend forwardly to be attached'bysome means asfaplate l5 to the ladjusting bar i8, whichiis slidably mounted -on a-bracket/Z xedto the ski. In Figs. 1-5'inc1usive, the adjusting `baris in lthe form of a channel, havingilanges'fZZvfor relative slidably guidedfrnovement on thebra-oket, and is apertured as at 2li for adjust-ably Mreceiving a connectingmeans -with'plate-t. 'The Vbracket is provided -with spaced `ea-rs i2-6 for mounting .a `pin "28 or the like V'wl'rich pivotally mounts a pair of links it! vwhich in turn are pivoted intermediate :the endsof an operating lever 132, thelatter lbeingpivoted'at oneendon Ia pin .34 'mounted -,between Ispaced-.ears 1&6 .on the adjusting bar. "The lever32 isii'anged as at 38 for this purpose. By this construction r'.'the Iadjusting bar is ,drawn Iforwardly of @the skiand clamps vthe joint when the operating lever32 is pivoted to the rea-r as respects the ski and :correspondingly retracts the `adjusting bar '.upon movement of the. lever in the=..opposite.direction.

In the presentl case` thelever 3.2.1.is slotted sto receive ears L35, as shown inFig. all, `and `between the slots the lever is provided ywith a hooked tongue di! which extends forwardly part way around the pin 3i as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 5. This tongue provides a guard plate for the pin as well as a spacing means for the ears 38, and in combination with a further guard plate to be described, will cover and guard the interior of the toggle joint against the undesired entrance of foreign articles which might damage the device or tend to open it.

The forward end of bracket 2G is elongated and bent backwards upon itself to provide a solid screw fastener receiving element i2 of double thickness. Extending further rearwardly the end of the bracket rises as at 44 along the forward edges of ears 26, over rivet 28, and rearwardly into close proximity to the hooked tongue 4Q, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. The width of this element, which is a guard plate, is equal to the spacing of ears 26 and maintains them in this condition against sidewise pressure, and together therewith forms a streamlined housing for pin 28 and prevents snow or ice from entering from the front under the adjusting bar. By extending closely up to the hooked tongue 40 and thus to the lever 32, a complete guard is provided for the entire interior mechanism of the toggle joint under the lever 32 and between links 30, and this guard will be seen to slant rearwardly so that during use of the skis, any sticks or twigs will rise up over the hitch and not become jammed in the toggle. The curvature of tongue 40 enhances this effect as Will be apparent from Fig. 5, while the iront aspect of the toggle, as seen in Fig. 4 is fully closed in clamping condition of the lever. Hence the apparatus is guarded at the front, top, and both sides, and no entry of foreign materials is possible during use of the skis.

The construction of Figs. 6-8 inclusive is the same as that of Figs. 1-5 as far as the guard plate 44 is concerned, but here the xed bracket 50 is channel shaped and has anges 52 for slidably guiding the toothed adjusting bar 54 which is adapted to cooperate in the manner shown in my Patent No. 2,253,890 with a cable connector or slider. In this case, the adjusting bar makes a pivot support for lever 56 by having an integral ear 58 bent around in the shape of an eye and brought forwardly and down to terminate in a support 60 which is used to maintain the adjusting bar in correct position. This ear forms a spacer for the flanges 62 of the lever 56 and also provides a guard for the space between the rear end of guard plate 44 and the forward end 64 of the lever, so that in this mo'dication of the invention as well as that previously described, the interior of the hitch is maintained free of detritus at all times.

An important aspect of the present invention resides in the fact that all metal rivet or pin rollers such as are shown in my prior patents are enabled to be completely done away with by the tongue construction 40, ear 58, and guard plate 44. Hence the rivets or pins may be left uncovered, by rollers, and are completely concealed and protected by stamped elements as described above.

This case is a substitute application for applicants earlier application S. N. 442,189, filed May 8, 1942.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. A ski binding hitch for tensioning the cables of a ski harness comprising a bracket adapted to be secured to the ski, an adjusting bar arranged slidably on said bracket, a toggle joint connected to said bracket and bar for clamping them in cable-tensioned relation, spaced ears on the bracket for pivotally mounting a part of said toggle joint, a guard plate located in xed relation forwardly of said ears and extending rearwardly and upwardly substantially in conformance therewith to form a housing with said ears, and a pin extending between the ears and pivotally mounting the toggle joint, said guard plate overlying the pin.

2. A ski binding hitch as recited in claim 1 wherein said guard plate is xed to the bracket.

3. A ski binding hitch for tensioning the cables of a ski harness comprising a bracket to be secured to a ski, rearwardly inclined spaced ears on said bracket, a pin or the like mounted on said ears, an adjusting bar for detachable connection to the ski cables, a toggle joint arranged between said bar and bracket, at least one ear on said bar, sai-d toggle including a lever and links connecting the lever and rst named ears, and an inclined plate extending in conformance to said rstnamed ears, said plate terminating rearwardly closely adjacent said second-named ear whereby the latter, said plate, and said links cooperate to form a guard housing for the pin.

ELBERT H. CARROLL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED- STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,259,701 Legros Oct. 21, 1941 2,314,270 Elliott Mar, 16, 1943 2,276,252 Nashe et al Mar. 10, 1942 2,253,889 Carroll Aug. 26, 1941 2,271,452 Carroll Jan. 27, 1942 2,253,890 Carroll Aug. 26, 1941 

